The amendments are suggested by staff in light of recent changes to state law that took effect Sept. 1. The changes limit the city’s ability to regulate multifamily development and single-family lot sizes.
McKinney City Council members are expected to consider the amendments for final action Sept. 16, according to a city document.
The setup
City Planning Manager Hayley Angel presented the proposed amendments during a Sept. 9 meeting before commission members voted. Changes were proposed in response to three bills passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year.
- Senate Bill 840: Requires certain cities to permit multifamily and mixed-use residential developments in all nonresidential zoning districts. It only applies to cities with a population higher than 150,000 that are located within a county with a population higher than 300,000.
- Senate Bill 15: Cities cannot require a lot to be larger than 3,000 square feet or 30 feet wide anywhere single-family residential development is permitted. It only applies in cases where a site is 5 acres or more and has no recorded plat.
- House Bill 24: Increases the threshold for filing a zoning petition with the city. Previously, a zoning protest petition only required signatures from property owners representing at least 20% of the land area surrounding a property that is undergoing a rezoning. Now that threshold is 60% when filing a protest petition against some residential zoning cases.
“These were mostly wording changes,” Angel said. “There’s nothing too substantial that’s come out of them.”
The details
Multiple changes were proposed in order to comply with state law. In response to SB 840, staff are proposing to change the name of the city’s “MF-30” multifamily zoning district to “MF-36” to reflect new density requirements, according to a city document. Amendments are also being made to reflect new requirements for parking, building height and setback distance.
City staff are proposing additional standards for multifamily developments in nonresidential districts, such as:
- 75% of parking must be covered or enclosed.
- Balconies are prohibited from facing single-family residential homes.
- Additional amenities and site enhancements will be required for multifamily development in nonresidential zoning districts.
In response to HB 24, staff are increasing the number of days required for a notification sign to be posted prior to a commission meeting and modifying requirements for zoning protest petitions.
Quote of note
“When it comes to responding to changes from state law, sometimes we just look for compliance so we want to make sure our code is in compliance with what's required by state law,” Angel said. “Other times we might have the ability to look at our regulations as a whole and say, ‘How do we adapt to this new regulatory environment?’”
